Apparatus for making ornamental articles



Jan. 24, 1967 F. M. KOCH 3,300,107

' APPARATUS FOR MAKING ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES Filed June 1, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 I I NVENTOR. FAm/vc/s M KocH ATTORNEYS" Jan. 24, 1967 F. M. KOCH APPARATUS FOR MAKING ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 1, 1965 INVENTOR. FAANC/S M KOCH gnu C ATTORNEYS 7 a ents? Patented Jan. 24, 1967 3 Claims. (Cl. 223-46) This invention relates to a method and apparatus for making ornamental articles, and more particularly relates to an improved means for forming bows from ribbon-like material. This is a refile of application Serial No. 333,489, now abandoned.

It is the present day practice of many retail establishments to offer the service of gift wrapping a customers purchases. In many cases this service is free to the customer while in other cases, particularly for the fancier wrappings, the retail store makes a small charge. Gift wrapping requires a certain amount of special training, and during the rush periods of special seasons the mechandising establishments often find it necessary to employ temporarily extra personnel who often do not have the necessary training in gift wrapping. Moreover, during special seasons even with extra trained help, the gift wrapping department is very busy and time-saving devices are highly desirable.

Therefore, there has developed a need for a device which can produce decorative and ornamental articles, such as bows, with a high degree of speed and uniformity. Several such devices of the prior art are known to me, but many of these devices are quite complicated and therefore expensive. Other devices that are simpler in structure still require a certain amount of dexterity and skill to operate and have not been completely satisfactory. Furthermore, in this do-it-yourself age, an increasing number of people are doing their own gift wrapping. However, many still do not have the know-how to make the decorative bows.

A simple and inexpensive device that could make these ornamental articles would therefore be useful. 7 It is therefore a principal object of my invention to provide an improved method and appaartus for making ornamental articles such as decorative bows for gift wrapping and the like.

It is another object of my invention to provide an improved method and apparatus for making ornamental articles such as decorative bows, that requires no training or particular skill to operate.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an apparatus for making ornamental articles that is extremely simple to operate and which can produce such articles in a variety of sizes, shapes and designs.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide an improved apparatus for making ornamental articles that is very low in cost and will give trouble-free performance for a long time without maintenance. In accordance with this object, my device is of such a simple design that its cost will make it readily available to the individual who might wish to do his own gift wrapping.

Briefly, the invention contemplates utilizing the principle of a rotating member or dial for the formation of the loops of a bow, the dial being turned manually to form each loop of the bow.

These and other objects and features of my invention will be readily apparent from a consideration of the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device constructed according to my invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view of the device showing the method of retaining a plurality of spool of ribbon;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view through the center of the dial and bow pin retaining means to show the details thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the bow release lever;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing the details of the bow retaining spring;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the dial member illustrating the first step of the formation of a bow;

FIG. 7 is a plan view similar to FIG. 6 and showing the formation of the first loop of a bow;

FIG. 8 is a view showing a bow completed on my novel device; and

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 1 and illustrating another embodiment of my invention.

Referring now to the drawings, the device of my invention consists of a cabinet, indicated generally by the reference numeral 12, that has parallel vertical sides 14- joined at the top by a horizontal top member 16. Cabinet 12 has a fiat sloping front 18 that terminates at its lower edge in a somewhat vertical portion 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the cabinet is hollow and is open in the rear. The sloping front acts as a base for the ribbon making device.

Although not essential to my invention, I prefer to provide inside the cabinet 12 means for holding rolls or spools of ribbon to be used in the formation of the ornamental articles such as bows. As shown in FIG. 2, a spindle 22 is mounted at its ends in retaining blocks 24- that are aifixed in any suitable manner or formed integrally with the sides 14 of the cabinet 12. Each of the retaining blocks 24 contains a groove 26 that receives the ends of the spindle 22 which can be made circular so that the spindle 22 turns freely in the grooves 26, or the spindle 22 can be held from turning since the spools of ribbon will turn on the spindle. Spools containing the desired sizes and colors of ribbon are placed on the spindle 22 with spacers 28 preferably provided between the spools to avoid interference between them. The spindie 22 containing the spools of ribbon is then slipped into the grooves 26 of the retaining blocks 24 at the rear of the cabinet 12.

In some cases, particularly when used in commercial establishments, the spools of ribbon may be mounted on a holder separate and apart from my device. However, this can be done and has no effect on the operation or use of my device.

The ribbon from a spool mounted inside the cabinet 12 is fed over the top of the cabinet 12 to a ribbon guide 30 afiixed to the top 16 of the cabinet 12. The ribbon guide 30 contains a slot 32 at its outer end, and the ribbon is slipped into slot 32 which then serves to guide the ribbon during formation of the :bow. As noted in FIG. 1, the guide extends at an angle upwardly and outwardly over the sloping front 18 0f the cabinet 12, and preferably the slot 32 is formed in the guide 30 at an angle downwardly and to the left When facing the cabinet 12 and slightly to the right of center. This is done so that the ribbon will be twisted in the correct direction to start formation of the bow and also will be guided properly during the bow formation.

Mounted on the sloping front 18 of the cabinet 12 is a circular-shaped rotatable member or dial 34. The dial 34 is turnable on a suitable pin 36 that also holds the dial 34 in place on the sloping front 18 of the cabinet 12. A spacer bearing 37 is also held by pin 36 between the dial 34 and the front 18. Thus, the dial 34 is spaced from. the front 18 of the cabinet to facilitate turning of the dial 3 4. Dial 334 contains a plurality of sets of indexing means, such as the holes 38 shown in the drawings.

As shown, the dial contains three sets of five holes each, the hole in each set being spaced along a radial line with respect to the other. Each set of holes preferably is marked as shown in the drawings with the numbers 1 through 5.

The set of indexing holes nearest the center of dial 34 is used for forming the smallest bows, and the holes further from the center are for forming larger bows. Any width of ribbon can be used for formation of any of the bows; however, the wider ribbons preferably are used for making the larger bows.

At the center of dial 34 is the bow retaining means indicated generally by reference numeral 45. The bow retaining means 4i consists of a bow retaining spring 42 and a bow releasing lever 44. One end 46 of the bow retaining spring 42 is fixed to the dial 3d at a point spaced from the center of the dial 34. The free end 43 of the retaining spring 2 is in a plane above the face of dial 34. This is done by forming the spring 42 with two bends as shown in FIG. 3. A slot 5% is formed in the free end 48 of the spring 42 which is made of spring steel so that it can exert the desired biasing force on the bow pin as explained more fully hereinafter.

The :bow releasing lever 4 is an elongated lever, pivotally secured at 45 to the dial 34 at a point spaced from the center and about 90 degrees from where the spring 42 is fixed to dial 34. The releasing lever 44 has a handle portion which preferably extends beyond the outside edge of dial 3 3 so that it can be easily gripped by the operator. Near the other or how retaining end 51 of releasing lever 44- there is a slot 52 that is formed in the side of the lever. Slot 5%) in spring retaining means 42 and slot 52 in lever 44 will hold the bow pin 54 in place when the lever is in the radial position shown in FIG. 6. Moving the outer end of lever 44 to the left release the pin and the bow and pin may then be slid out from slot 50 to release the how.

The purpose of the bow retaining means 40 is to hold the bow pin 54 upon which the bow is formed and held together. The bow pin 54 can be of any standard well known design and has a base 56, a stem 58 and an enlarged pointed head 60. The slot 52 in the releasing lever 4 must be smaller than the base 56, and the slot 5% in the retaining spring 42 must be smaller than the enlarged head as of the bow pin 54.

To place the bow pin 54 in the bow retaining means at), the handle 53 of the .bow releasing lever 44 is moved to the left thus swinging the retaining end 51 away from the center of the dial 34. The bow pin 54 is then slipped into the groove 5t) of the bow retaining spring 42 with the pointed head (iii resting on top of spring 42. The spring 42 is then depressed and the bow releasing lever 44 turned so that the slot 52 in its end engages the stem 58 of the bow pin 54. The spring 42 is released and will exert a force under the enlarged head 60 of the bow pin 5 tending to lift the pin 54. This force is resisted by the releasing lever 44 which engages the base 56 of the bow pin 54, thus holding the pin 54 in place.

To simplify use of the device, an index mark and the word start is preferably printed on the sloping front 18 near the top thereof as shown in FIG. 1. Also a second index mark stop is provided near the bottom of the sloping front 18. The operation and use of the device will now be described with reference to the formation of a how.

The bow releasing lever 44 is first moved to the right by moving the handle 53 to the left far enough to allow the bow pin 54 to he slid into slot 5b of the bow retaining spring 42. The pointed head 69 of the bow pin 54 must be above the bow retaining spring 42. With the spring 42 depressed, the bow releasing lever 44 is then moved to the left by moving the handle 53 to the right until the slot 52 engages the stem 58 of the bow pin 54. The spring 42 is released and the bow pin 54 is now securely held by the bow retaining means 40. As best seen in FIG. 3, the pointed head as is above the retaining spring 42., and there is sufiicient space between the base 56 of the bow pin 54 and retaining spring 42 so that the spring 42 can be depressed as the bow is formed.

A piece of ribbon cut to the desired length for tying the bow to a package is laid across the center of the dial 34 from right to left and the center of the ribbon is pressed down on the pointed head 60 of the bow pin 54- until the ribbon is pierced and held in place. Note that the bow retaining spring 42 with its upward biasing effect against the head 60 of the bow pin 54 holds the ribbon in place between the spring 42 and the shoulder of the head 6t). If it is desired to form a loop on the bottom of the how so that it may be glued, pinned, or taped to the package to be Wrapped, a short piece of ribbon may be formed and each end of the ribbon secured over the bow pin 54 to form a small loop.

The free end of the ribbon from one of the spools is threaded through the slot 32 in the guide 30, and with dial 34 in position with the index holes 1 at the start position, the free end of the ribbon is pulled down across the face of dial 34 just beyond the center. The free end of the ribbon is then pressed down over the pointed head 60 of the bow pin 54 until it is pierced and held in place by the retaining spring 42.

The point of a pencil or a pen, or other suitable article such as pin 62, is then inserted into one of the index holes marked 1 depending on the size bow that is to be made. If a small bow is being made, the set of holes closest to the center of the dial are used, the middle and outer sets of holes being used for larger bows. Note that because of the ribbon guide 30, the ribbon is vertical and to the right of the pin 62. Using the pin 62, the dial 34- is now turned clockwise until hole 1 reaches the stop position at the bottom of the cabinet 12. Movement of the dial as with pin 62 carries the ribbon with it, and as shown in FIG. 7, this forms the first loop of the bow. To complete the operation, the running end of the ribbon is then pulled snug around the pin 62 and pressed down across the pointed head 60 of the bow pin 54 until the ribbon is pierced and held in place.

With the index holes 1 at the stop position, the index hole 2 will now be near the start position. The above steps are then repeated using the pin 62 engaging it in the proper index hole in sequence from 2 through 5, and moving the dial 34 clockwise each time from the start to the stop position. After each loop is formed, the running end of the ribbon is fixed to the bow pin 54. After completion of five loops or more, the ribbon is cut oif near the center of the bow and the last loop of the bow turned under and the free end of the ribbon afiixed to the bow pin 54.

To remove thecompleted bow from the device, it is only necessary to turn the handle 53 of the bow releasing lever 54 to the left which will move the retaining end 51 to the right and the how can then be easily slipped out of the slot 50 in the bow retaining spring 42.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an alternate construction of the device of my invention is shown. The device in this embodiment is constructed identical to that of the first embodiment in all respects except that instead of index holes 38 small projections 64 may be formed on the face of the dial 34 and a pin used especially formed with a recess in its end corresponding to the index projections 64. Obviously this embodiment requires the use of a specially formed pin 62 whereas in the first embodiment of my invent-ion any article such as a pen or pencil that is handy to the operator of the device can be satisfactorily used.

Also, in this second embodiment, the bow releasing lever 445 can be afiixed to the dial 34 and the slot 52 formed opening to the left. With this construction, the bow pin 54 is inserted in place by first depressing the spring 42 and then sliding the stem 5% simultaneously into both slot 50 in the spring 42 and slot 52 in the releasing lever 44. When the spring 42 is released, the bow pin 54 will be held in place and can be removed by again depressing the spring 42.

It is evident that any number and pattern of index openings can be formed in the dial of the device so that a wide variety of ornamental articles can be constructed. If desired, the dial can be made easily removable from the cabinet by any of various well known methods so that a dial with a different pattern can be quickly replaced and used for the formation of diflferent bows. While the indices are preferably in the form of openings, raised stops or projections might be employed.

My novel method and device is obviously extremely simple and almost foolproof in operation. When the device is formed of relatively inexpensive material such as plastic, it can be priced at an amount attractive to the individual for use in the home.

There are other modifications that can be made to my device and method without departing from the principles of the invention, although it has been illustrated only in connection with the above embodiments. Such modifications and revisions that are obvious to those skilled in the art are within the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is my intention that any such revisions and modifications be included within the scope of the following claims.

Iclaim:

1. A device for making ornamental articles from a ribbon, comprising a base member, a dial rotatably mounted on said base member, said dial having a plurality of indices in the form of openings, an indexing pin to be removably inserted in successive openings to rotate the dial and provide a means for forming loops,,and means at the center of said dial for releasably holding a fastening element for said ribbon, said means comprising a resilient retaining member having one end affixed to said dial, the other end projecting over the center of the dial and having a slot in the projecting end, and a releasing lever member projecting over the center of the dial and having a slot in the projecting end, alignable with the slot in said resilient member to accommodate a fastening element, the pin carrying the ribbon with the dial as the dial is rotated to draw out the ribbon and form loops whose size and position is determined by the indexing and pin placement as the dial is rotated.

2. The device of claim 1 in which the releasing lever member is pivotally secured on said dial, and-the end of said releasing lever member having a slot therein movable out of alignment with the slot in said resilient member to release the fastening element.

3. The device of claim 1 in which the resilient retain ing member is afiixed to the dial, and the slot in said retaining member opens coincidentally with the slot in said resilient member to accommodate a fastening element.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,044,670 7/1962 Barefoot 22346 3,061,153 10/1962 Rector 223-46 3,136,459 6/1964 Mashburn 223-46 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A DEVICE FOR MAKING ORNAMENTAL ARTICLES FROM A RIBBON, COMPRISING A BASE MEMBER, A DIAL ROTATABLY MOUNTED ON SAID BASE MEMBER, SAID DIAL HAVING A PLURALITY OF INDICES IN THE FORM OF OPENINGS, AN INDEXING PIN TO BE REMOVABLY INSERTED IN SUCCESSIVE OPENINGS TO ROTATE THE DIAL AND PROVIDE A MEANS FOR FORMING LOOPS, AND MEANS AT THE CENTER OF SAID DIAL FOR RELEASABLY HOLDING A FASTENING ELEMENT FOR SAID RIBBON, SAID MEANS COMPRISING A RESILIENT RETAINING MEMBER HAVING ONE END AFFIXED TO SAID DIAL, THE OTHER END PROJECTING OVER THE CENTER OF THE DIAL AND HAVING A SLOT IN THE PROJECTING END, AND A RELEASING LEVER MEMBER PROJECTING OVER THE CENTER OF THE DIAL AND HAVING A SLOT IN THE PROJECTING END, ALIGNABLE WITH THE SLOT IN SAID RESILIENT MEMBER TO ACCOMODATE A FASTENING ELEMENT, THE PIN CARRYING THE RIBBON WITH THE DIAL AS THE DIAL IS ROTATED TO DRAW OUT THE RIBBON AND FORM LOOPS WHOSE SIZE AND POSITION IS DETERMINED BY THE INDEXING AND PIN PLACEMENT AS THE DIAL IS ROTATED. 